There may not be as many protest singers these days, but those that do make sure they get their message across. Such was the case with Rise Against‘s Tim McIlrath at Wisconsin’s ‘Get Out the Vote’ Rally last Friday (June 1).

The singer, standing alone at center stage with only his guitar, chose Neil Young‘s classic ‘Ohio’ for his performance. “This song is not from my generation, but from the generation before my generation,” explained McIlrath, who added, “I believe that my generation has a lot to learn from your generation and my generation has a lot to learn from the protest culture of the ’70s. My generation has a lot to learn about who’s been standing at the castle walls and protecting worker’s rights, protecting that the freedoms that we all enjoy. And you can’t walk away from those walls because there’s just someone out there ready to invade. There’s someone out there wanting to roll back the rights that people marched for and held up signs for and shouted and screamed for and sang for, and so I want to show a little bit of that generation to my generation.”

Though played with virtually no other backing, the power of Young’s words still had resonance with the Wisconsin crowd, not to mention Tom Morello who can clearly be seen in the background of the video bobbing along and moving his arms in support of the track.

This isn’t the first time McIlrath has played the song at a rally, as he performed it just last year when he and Morello performed on the steps of the Wisconsin Capitol Building to protest the labor cuts proposed by Governor Scott Walker last year.

While that protest was to shine a spotlight on the immediate bills that Walker was trying to pass, this recent rally was to unite Wisconsin voters to stand up to the Governor when the elections take place this year.